Forever and Always
by PhoenixFireSpirit
Summary: When an old enemy returns, not only is Botan in danger, but a secret that Hiei wanted to keep hidden may be told.


Hey fanfiction world! Phoenix here, with my newest story. The disclaimer is, obviously, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Read and enjoy!

Before that, the dedication:

This story is for my good friend Blacklight52, in honor of his (very belated) birthday. Blacklight-you've always liked the Hiei/Botan pairing, so I hope you enjoy this. You've been a great friend over the past 2 years-so many good times and memories, whether it be just the two of us or everyone! As Always, Phoenix

* * *

It was a gloomy spring day. The rain tapped heavily on the windows. Botan slumped into her blue beanbag chair, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV. She flicked through the channels and finally settled on _Matrix Cows _on HBO. It featured cows in sunglasses on a mission to save the world. However, it was hard to listen. _I knew I shouldn't have asked for the apartment above Yusuke's_, Botan thought. Today, the Kuwabaras were moving in to the apartment next to the Urameshi's. And chaos was ensuing.

"Dammit!" yelled Yusuke after a thud.

"Yusuke!" That must have been Kayko. Botan winced as she heard a slap. _I told him to cut back on the swearing_. Botan sighed and shook her head. She reached into the basket to the side of her chair and took out a magazine. _Hmmmmm a cooking magazine._ She flicked through it, and one recipe caught her eye in particular. _Super Meaty Lasagna...Serves 10... _"Hey, I have all the ingredients!" She shouted, sitting upright, "So I can make this, and a few other things, and then everyone can come over for dinner after a hard day of moving in! And then I'll get Kurama to track Hiei down to eat with us too!"

Botan got up and began to whistle as she worked to prepare dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiei was sitting in a tree a little ways away in a park. He sighed and settled back in the tree crossing his arms, rested them behind his head, and closed his eyes._ Who knew that the Nigenkai could be this beautiful?_ While other humans disliked rain, Hiei enjoyed it greatly. It's gentle patter on the ground, the coolness it brought. Suddenly, he felt warmth. _Hn. Rain sure doesn't bring warmth. _Suddenly, Hiei gave a start. _Hmmm, this energy I'm sensing seems familiar. Too familiar._ "Could it be…?" Hiei wondered out loud. 

Whipping off his headband, Hiei used his Jagan. He searched the surrounding area, finally resting on the source. _Darn. That baka Gouki was smarter than I thought he was. Hn. Of course. He had a soul stored in him, not a child's, but that of a demon. And having that soul stored allowed him to come back to life only one time._ He noticed the area where Gouki was heading to. And it looked strangely familiar…

"No! That's…Yusuke and the others' apartment building!" And with a _whoosh_, he was off, trying to make it in time to help them.

* * *

Botan walked down the stairs. Dinner was done and sitting on the table, fresh and hot. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, though, when she thought she heard the sound of rushing water. 

"Watch out, Botan!" yelled Kuwabara. She jumped out of the way as a ton of water rushed past, Kuwabara and Yusuke in fast pursuit. "What…?" Botan stepped down and walked down the hall, where Kayko, Kurama, and Shizuru stood with Mitari, who had a bleeding cut on his hand. "Um…" Botan trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"No worries, Botan. Mitari's powers just got out of control for a moment, that's all," said Kurama, with a grin on his face.

"Here ya go!" chirped Atsuko, appearing at next to Shizuru and handing a bandage to Mitari.

"Will this make the water disappear?" questioned Kayko.

"It should," murmured Mitari, placing the bandage on his hand. The water stopped, and Yusuke and Kuwabara made their way over to the group, where they slumped against the wall, panting.

"Well, now that that's done, I would like to invite you to my place for dinner!" exclaimed Botan.

Cheers came from the group. Everyone agreed that they would come up as soon as they finished unpacking a box containing some of the Kuwabaras' clothes. With the arrangements said and done, Botan made her way upstairs to re-heat dinner, which would most likely be could after she had spent a little more time than expected downstairs.

* * *

About five minutes after she arrived back at her place, there was a knock on the door. Botan ran over and opened the door. "That was some quick unpacking!" she exclaimed. But she gasped when she saw what was standing in front of her. A large demon, around 7 feet tall, with horns sticking out of his head, a thick mat of brown hair, and dark skin. She gasped. "It…it can't be..." 

"Me? But it is," said Gouki with harsh laugh, "Your Spirit Detective's pitiful blast may have finished my first life off, but not my second!"

"What do you mean?" asked Botan.

"I mean that I had a second demon soul stored inside me in case of an emergency! Like death! Then I would have been able to return to life and destroy the one that killed me and his friends one by one! Bwhahahahaha!" shouted Gouki.

"You're insane!" screamed Botan.

"But that doesn't matter, does it! You will die and go back to the Spirit World, never to return here again!" With that, Gouki advanced on Botan, who could only back up into the wall._ Oh no…_

Hiei raced into the apartment and sprinted up four flights of stairs to the Kuwabara's new apartment. He blasted through the door, and stood in the middle of the room, staring at everyone. "Where's Gouki?" he demanded.

"Gouki? What the heck do you mean? I killed him," said Yusuke.

Hiei shook his head. "He came back to life and he was heading this way…"

Suddenly a scream split the air. Hiei looked around and noticed Botan was not with them. "Oh no…" He sprinted up to the nearest flight of stairs and began to run up them. "Hiei? Hiei wait!" yelled Kurama. He began to run after him, Yusuke and Kuwabara close behind him.

Hiei burst through the door and stopped short. Gouki's back was to him. "Stop there," he demanded.

Gouki turned. "Another one of the detective's friends? Ah, Hiei! We meet again!"

"Get away from her," growled Hiei.

"Does this girl mean something to you Hiei? Does she?" taunted Gouki. Hiei looked away. "Not answering, eh? Well then, I'll get it out of you with this!" Gouki pulled a dagger out of his pocket. It gleamed silver, ending with a sharp point. The hilt was simple black leather. Hiei flinched. "Yes...you know what this is, don't you Hiei? Another artifact, known as the Dagger of Truth. If you get stabbed, I get to ask you one question, and you _must_ answer it truthfully. So let's find out what she means to you!"

Hiei whipped off his cloak and tossed it aside. He drew his sword and leapt. Gouki ran at him, and the battle was joined. They traded punches, kicks, all else, but both seemed reluctant to use their weapons. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke appeared in the doorway, staring at the battle that was raging inside Botan's apartment.

"You guys!" screamed Botan.

Hiei turned, distracted. Gouki took that as an advantage and kicked Hiei in the stomach, slamming him into the wall. Hiei only had time to take in a breath before Gouki sunk the dagger into his shoulder. Hiei winced, and growled at Gouki through gritted teeth. "Damn you."

"Hehehe…but you have to answer my question. WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING THIS GIRL?" he roared.

"Because…because I love her."

The entire room went silent. _Woh…didn't see that one coming_ thought Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama.

_Oh my gosh_ thought Botan.

"Bwhahahahahaha! You have become weak living with humans Hiei!" yelled Gouki.

"You. Wish," Hiei smirked. Suddenly, his sword glowed red and black with flame."Sword of Dragon Fire!"

Gouki was instantly slashed into two pieces. Hiei stood, grabbed his cloak, and wrenched the dagger out of his shoulder. "Koenma will probably want this," he said, holding it out to Yusuke, his eyes on the floor. Yusuke took it, staring at Hiei in disbelief. Hiei sprinted out of the room.

Botan stood up straight and sighed. Walking into the kitchen, she opened a cabinet and took out a first-aid kit. Turning to the guys, she asked, "Any ideas where he might have gone?"

"The roof," answered Kuwabara, "That's where you go when you have a problem to solve, you want time alone, or just to chill. Me and Yusuke do it a lot."

"Thanks!" called Botan, already out the door.

* * *

She climbed the steps to the roof, and opened the door. Stepping onto the roof, she looked around, spotting Hiei in a corner, basking in the moonlight. She made her way over and sat down next to him. He sighed, startling her. 

"The rain stopped," he said, glancing at her. He hugged his knees to his chest before continuing, "I've always liked the rain. It's calming…and it seems to wash it all away. Fear…sadness…anger…pain."

_Why is he telling me this?_ Botan thought. _Probably cause he trusts me…_ She sighed a little and busied herself with cleaning his wound and bandaging it. He made no response, and kept staring up into the starry sky.

"Hiei, why didn't you tell me? Tell me that you loved me?" asked Botan.

"I thought that maybe you liked someone else…Koenma, Kurama, one of the others…"

"Um, well, not really. I mean, Koenma has Ayame and all, and I think Kurama's been crushin on Koto ever since the Tournament…And everyone else _has _someone else, so there's no one else but…what I'm trying to say is…darn it, why can't I? I love you too Hiei."

Turning towards her, Botan could see his stunned expression. "Really?" he asked.

"Yup. And I always will. Forever and Always"

Then she did the thing Hiei least expected. Leaning forward, she kissed gently on the lips. He was surprised, but then kissed her right back.

* * *

Of course, Yusuke burst through the door with Kuwabara in tow. "You guys comin?" he yelled. 

Hiei shook his head he stood, and held his hand out to Botan, who took it. Standing up, they walked over to the two boys. _At least the truth is known now. I have nothing to fear,_ thought Hiei.

The door to the roof swung shut, and all was quiet on the roof.

Under the stars.

_Forever and Always._

_

* * *

_

Hope everyone liked it! Review if you want to.


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